SAT case: Bharti Airtel, MTN made parties

Telecom giants, Bharti Airtel and South Africa's MTN, have been made parties in a shareholder appeal filed with the Securities Appellate Tribunal that is to come up for hearing on August 28.

Deepak Mehra, a shareholder of Bharti Airtel who holds around 200 shares, has challenged a June 22 SEBI order that exempts MTN from making an open offer to Bharti Airtel shareholders.

The bench comprising Justices N K Sodhi and Samar Ray, had on August 11, permitted Mehra's lawyer to make both Bharti and MTN parties to the case.

SAT made Bharti and MTN parties to the case, based on an application made by Mehra's lawyer Janak Dwarkadas, a source close to the development said.

The market regulator had, on June 22, stated that MTN need not make an open offer to Bharti Airtel shareholders in India as its shareholding in the Sunil Mittal-promoted firm would be through global depository receipts.

Sebi said the open offer will only trigger once the GDRs, issued to MTN and its shareholders by Bharti Airtel, are converted into local shares with voting rights.

Mehra is seeking to overturn the Sebi order on the open offer on the ground that underlying shares carry voting rights.